WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart is once again voicing his frustration with aspects of today’s wrestling style, this time taking aim at what he sees as sloppy striking in the modern product.
Speaking at the Johnny I Pro Show, Hart criticized current wrestlers — specifically naming Sheamus — for throwing punches he feels lack realism and proper technique.
“I see guys throwing punches and they open their hand at the last second and slap the guy and then close it by the time they pull back,” Hart said. “Um, who’s that Irish guy? Sheamus does those all the time. And I see him, I’m like, ‘why don’t you take 10 minutes and go down and have someone teach you how to throw a punch instead of throwing that embarrassment of a punch?’”
Hart contrasted the current style with his own in-ring approach, pointing fans to his memorable match at WrestleMania 7, where The Hart Foundation faced The Nasty Boys.
“If you watch WrestleMania 7 with the Nasty Boys—when the Hart Foundation and the Nasty Boys wrestled—and I’m on the second rope and I think I’ve got Sags or Knobbs, I can’t remember which one. You want to watch punches? Watch the punches that I pound on Sags’ head,” Hart recalled. “I remember hitting him, just hitting him over and over on the head. And whenever I watch it back, I go, ‘Look at those punches.’ I always like, ‘Look at these punches. Look at these punches.’ And I can tell you, not one of those punches hurt anyone. But if you watch it, it looks like I’m just killing them out there. And I go, ‘That’s what I do. That’s what I did. I made it real without hurting anybody.’”
